Russia to Deploy Avangard, S-350 Vityaz, and Iskander-M in 2019

On December 26, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia will deploy its Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle in 2019. President Putin’s announcement came following a successful Avangard test launch that same day, marking what appears to be the missile’s fourteenth flight test. The Avangard was one of six “next generation” weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a speech in March 2018.

On December 30, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced that it will deploy the S-350 “Vityaz” (“Knight”) air defense system in 2019. The S-350 is planned to replace Russia’s S-300 AMD system, and was developed by the Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defence Corporation.

On January 1, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian Army will be reequipped with the Iskander-M in 2019. The MoD statement reports that “In accordance with the state defense order, the manufacturer will hand a unit of the Iskander-M systems over to the Western Military District”. The Iskander-M is a tactical ballistic missile system with a range of 500 km.

Missile Threat brings together a wide range of information and analyses relating to the proliferation of cruise and ballistic missiles around the world and the air and missile defense systems designed to defeat them. Missile Threat is a product of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

NEWSLETTER

Sign up for the CSIS Missile Defense Project’s monthly newsletter for info on the project’s latest publications, upcoming events, and analysis on recent missile defense news.